The secretary of the Treasury, Besent, says that the American dream is not about ‘access to cheap products’

The Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Besent, offered on Thursday a complete defense of the White House position on tariffs, insisting that commercial policy should be more than more than obtaining low -priced items from other countries.

“Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream,” Besent said during a speech before the New York Economic Club. “The American dream is based on the concept that any citizen can achieve prosperity, ascending mobility and economic security. For too long, designers of multilateral commercial agreements have lost sight of this.”

The comments arrived with the markets at the limit of to what extent President Donald Trump will arrive in an effort to achieve his objectives in the global trade. The actions fell sharply on Thursday Despite the news about some movement of the administration of Mexican imports.

In a speech pronounced to a multitude of main economists, Besent indicated that Trump is willing to take strong measures to achieve his commercial objectives.

“To the extent that the practices of another country damage our own economy and people, the United States will respond. This is the first commercial policy of the United States,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Data from the Department of Commerce He stressed to what extent the United States has been left behind its global business partners. The imbalance increased to a record of $ 131.4 billion in January, an increase of 34% since the previous month and almost double a year ago.

“This system is not sustainable,” said Besent.

Economists and market participants care that Trump rates It will increase prices and slow growth. However, White House officials point out that tariffs were little to enliven inflation during Trump’s first mandate, promoting the growth potential of the reba as companies seek to avoid paying tasks.

“In a continuum, I am not worried about inflation,” Besent said. He added that Trump considers that tariffs have three benefits: as a source of income with the United States that execute huge tax deficits, as a way of protecting industries and workers from unfair practices worldwide, and as “the third section for the” Trump “stool uses it to negotiate.”

Thursday’s talk was organized by Larry Kudlow, head of the National Economic Council during Trump’s first mandate.

In addition to discussing tariffs, the two talked about deregulation, as well as the onerous debt and the deficit load faced by the government. The budget is already $ 840 billion in the hole Throughout the first four months of 2025 prosecutors, since the deficit extends over 6% as a part of the gross domestic product, a practically unprecedented level in an expansive economy in peacetime.

“This is the last and grill bar to do this,” Besent said about imposing fiscal discipline. “Everyone knows what they should do. It is, do they have the willpower to do it?”

Besent also advocated a deep examination of banking regulations, particularly for smaller institutions, which according to him are loaded with rules that do not help security.

While Besent spoke, the actions joined the losses in what has been a difficult week for Wall Street.

“Wall Street has done very well, Wall Street can continue to work well. But this administration is Main Street,” he said.